Lightning Strikes
by aGreatLoudThump
Summary: I was curious as to how the story would be different if Ryuuko had been reincarnated as...well, Ryuuko.
1. Prologue: Silver Ghost

**Disclaimer: I do not own Monochrome Factor.**

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Nobody saw him. Sometimes, on his better days, he told himself this was because he was a shadow in a world full of light. Of course they couldn't see him. He was beyond (or beneath) their level of detection. But on his bad days, most days, he thought it might be because he's a ghost

(in a world full of the living).

Invisible, untouchable, and haunting a world he doesn't belong to, wearing clothes the color of mourning.

(He is in mourning.)

He wouldn't be surprised if he'd died and not yet realized it, and this was his punishment for failing to protect the person he cared most about in the world; an endless purgatory of searching and never finding, each day dawning with new hope and each day closing with fresh despair. Perhaps there really wasn't any reincarnation coming at all. It would be fitting, he mused darkly, if another one of the truths he was "born" knowing turned out to be a lie.

Shirogane shook his head sharply. He couldn't afford to think like that. As long as the light had not yet fled from the world, _he_ would come back. The light would return to his life, and Shirogane would know peace after centuries of restless wandering.

But still, it had been so long... As Shirogane glanced at the sky, he felt the old depression creeping up on him. The sun was setting. Another day gone without any sign.

Shirogane had gotten it into his head that _he_ would appear during the day. After all, wasn't that when the light element in this world was at its strongest? It made sense. But this day was over. Which meant that Shirogane would not be seeing that person today.

(Where are you?)

As his hopeless feelings gained momentum Shirogane turned from the broad, clean main street, which was full of people hurrying home to their loved ones, into darker alleys that were narrow and filled with trash. They suited him better.

He eventually came to a shabby warehouse district with crumbling buildings and derelict cars. The shadows here were especially thick.

Shirogane paused. This was not ordinary darkness. This felt familiar.

Cursing aloud, he ran towards the epicenter of the swelling darkness, even as the moon began to rise in the east. But soon after he started running, he noticed something else strange. The creeping shadows were... disappearing? Had the portal already been sealed? But that's impossible. Only a king could do that... or a hakua, but there's no way that even a pack of them could seal a hole large enough to let out that amount of darkness. Who had done it then? It hadn't been Shirogane, and the other king of the light was far too busy with other matters to bother with each individual hole. And it certainly couldn't have been that traitorous, murdering bas-

Wait, up there. That brilliant glint. What on earth was that? Squinting past the reflected glare, Shirogane stared upward to behold a figure holding two knives in a reverse grip, the blades of which appeared to be made of glass. In sharp contrast to the strange knives which were sharply reflecting the moonlight, the figure holding them was in deep shadow. It stood seemingly unafraid on top of the upright metal crossbeam of a building that appeared to be under construction near the edge of the warehouse district, nearly six stories in the air.

Suddenly, the knives vanished into the air with a single pulse of light as concentric waves spread out, much like how a drop of water merges with a pool beneath it. The quick flash lit up the individual's face for only a moment, but it was enough. Shirogane gasped aloud at what he saw; the shape of the face, the black hair, and most of all those eyes_..._that shade of red that he had seen nowhere else.

He didn't want to say it out loud in case he may be wrong, but he couldn't stop himself. And so, Shirogane whispered a single name.

"Ryuuko..."

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**Hey, trying out a new story, so let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, but saying nice things is good too. (This is my way of telling you to review.)**


	2. Chapter 1: Flee-On-Sight

**Disclaimer: I do not own Monochrome Factor. Honest.**

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Akira ran, panting, trying to get away. It wasn't working. The Shin could move as fast, if not faster, than he could. Gritting his teeth, Akira stomped hard on the slanted surface of the next building, praying its derelict roof would hold his weight, and then leaped off into the cold night air.

Behind him, the Shin was shouting at him to wait, stop, I'm not going to hurt you. Akira snorted. He may be relatively new at this, but he wasn't stupid. He recalled what Kou had told him the night he had first tagged along to fight the kokuchi and close the portals -well, mostly just closing the portals, since hyper-protective Kou never let a single kokuchi get close to him. Anyway, right before they left to go on patrol for the very first time, Kou had pulled him aside and said, in an uncharacteristically serious voice, "Aki, you remember what I told you about Shin?"

"Yes," Akira replied immediately. "They are the opposite of the Rei, that is to say us, and they protect the shadow world form the incursion of the light world the same way we protect our world from theirs."

"That's right," said Kou, nodding, "and if you ever meet one out there-" he pointed in the general direction of the warehouse district and beyond-"and I'm not with you, I want you to run."

Akira blinked. "You mean, run away?"

"Yes," he said, maintaining his serious tone. "You're not as strong as they are, so I want you to get out of there as fast as you can."

"But, how come I'm not as strong as them? Aren't we more or less equals in the grander scheme of things? I don't want to fight, but if I have to-"

"No!"

Akira started. Kou had almost shouted that last word. Kou, who always had an easygoing smile on his face and spoke in a calm yet cheerful voice. Kou, who almost never shouted at anyone. Especially not at him.

Kou calmed down a little and explained in a calmer tone, "No, Aki. You're not nearly as experienced as they are, and you're far too important-" He took a breath and turned his head slightly away. "I don't want to lose you," he said in a softer tone, looking at Akira out of the corner of his eye.

"You mean, since I'm the only one available who can close the portals?" said Akira cautiously. He got the feeling Kou had left something-or several somethings-unsaid, but felt that Kou didn't want to talk about them. So he fabricated this excuse for Kou, who had, just for a moment, looked so worried and upset.

Kou started, a little guiltily, and responded "Err, yes, of course. You are a descendent of the Direct King of Rei after all, so we can't afford to lose you to some random kokuchi, now can we?" he added with a wink. Akira still felt he was leaving out something important, but he trusted Kou completely, so he decided not to call him on it. Besides, he was glad that Kou seemed to have become his usual self again.

"-So will you run away?" asked Kou, once again peering at him from the corner of his eye.

Akira sighed. "Yes," he agreed, resigned. "But what should I do if I'm with you?"

"You already know the answer to that," Kou responded, using a stern voice again. "Follow my orders. Hopefully we won't get separated out there, but if we do, you can consider flee-on-sight to be your standing orders regarding Shin."

And so, that's what he was doing. Fleeing as fast as he could, but damn if that guy wasn't catching up. Maybe they really were stronger than him, he mused as he leapt over a burnt out air-conditioning unit on top of another warehouse. He had led the Shin to the oldest, most decrepit section of the district here in hopes that his greater weight would cause him to fall through a roof. Not that Akira thought it would kill or even seriously injure the Shin, but it might buy him time to escape.

"Wait!" cried a voice behind him. "I just want to talk to you!" Akira glanced back and was disturbed to find that the Shin was almost right on top of him. Becoming a little desperate, he landed hard on top of the next building, intending to leap forward as far as he could in an effort to put some distance between the two of them. But he miscalculated. He had forgotten the reason he led the Shin into this area in the first place; to make him fall through a roof.

An ominous crack sounded underneath his feet as rotten boards gave way. Quickly, Akira tried to escape, but it was too late. The surface beneath him caved in before he could work up sufficient momentum to jump off it, and then he was falling into the building's interior from more than three stories in the air. Normally, the height alone would have been nothing, but there were chunks of debris from the collapsed roof raining down with him, and even if he managed to avoid them while falling they could still land on top of him when he reached the ground. Add that to the Shin chasing him and things weren't looking too good.

Akira was twisting around in midair when something crashed into him from above. Akira's first thought was debris, but the substance was surprisingly soft and seemed to be holding onto him. Looking back, Akira caught a glimpse of a silver braid shining in the moonlight before he plunged into the darkened interior of the warehouse.

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**It's surprisingly hard to write this from a young Ryuuko's point of view...maybe because he hardly got any screen time in the manga, never mind the anime, so its hard to imagine what he would be thinking. So if my 'Akira' seems a little OOC, sorry. I'll try not to go too off course.**

**And yes, his name is Akira too. I know that might be a little confusing, but it seemed more confusing to name him anything else. He looks the same as the canon Akira too, since they're so similar in appearance anyway. But my Akira's personality will be as close to Ryuuko's as I can make it, with some variations due to age and inexperience, as well as the differences that would arise from growing up in the human world versus the light (or dark) world. **

**So, yeah...maybe a little OOC. Just thought you deserved a heads up. **


	3. Chapter 2: Akira

**Disclaimer: I don't own Monochrome Factor**

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When Shirogane saw the boy who looked like Ryuuko fall through the roof, he panicked. He had been running as fast as he could after him, desperately trying to convince the boy that he meant no harm when suddenly he seemed to disappear. Shirogane thought he might be having heart palpitations, that it had all been some kind of fantastical hallucination his mind had conjured out of a desperate need to _believe_. Then he saw the hole in the roof.

He immediately leaped inside, impatiently flicking aside falling boards with his cane. He spotted the boy falling just ahead of him. Dissolving his cane, he reached out with both arms and grabbed him around the waist. Flipping them both around, he focused the remnants of his power and tried to float. It didn't work very well, but he managed to slow them both down enough to make their landing a little more gentle. They even managed to land on their feet.

The boy seemed extremely confused about what just happened, but as soon as they touched down he started struggling to get away. Shirogane refused to release him however (-never letting go of him again-) and then collapsed pieces of the ceiling were falling on top of them. Shirogane held the boy even closer and, with no time to rematerialize his cane and face the descending debris, he shielded the child with his own body, wincing as bits and pieces struck him.

They were lucky; nothing big hit them, and most of it was porous, rotten and lightweight. But one piece clipped Shirogane sharply on the temple, and he gasped, staggering and falling to the side. A few seconds later, he blacked out.

The first thing he noticed when he awoke a few seconds later was that the boy was no longer in his arms. Ignoring the pounding in his head, he frantically sat up and looked around, more than half expecting him to be gone.

"Are you alright?" asked a wary voice.

Looking to his left, he saw the boy standing near the pool of light that entered from the large hole in the roof. Upon closer inspection, he looked to be about sixteen, noticeably younger in appearance than Ryuuko had been. There were other dissimilarities as well; the clothing was significantly different, and his hair was much shorter. Still, he looked so much like Ryuuko it made Shirogane's chest ache. The boy was watching him warily, but also with what appeared to be curiosity and maybe even a little concern.

"Why did you help me?" he asked abruptly. "Aren't we we supposed to be enemies?"

Shirogane was surprised. Enemies? Why would they be enemies? No, wait. It was only natural that someone born into this era of constant warfare would think that about the different sides. Especially when on side was trying to take over the other.

Shirogane cursed under his breath. No wonder the child was wary of him. He was a Shin. The boy was a Rei. Technically they were at war. Little wonder he had run from him on first sight.

Shirogane had to diffuse this tension and convince the boy he meant no harm. Otherwise he might run, and Shirogane would never see him again. He held up his hands in the universal gesture of peace and surrender, put on the nicest smile that he had, and said, "I'm here to...ask for your help."

The child seemed taken aback by that. It was no wonder, really. Still, Shirogane had to say something. And in a way, it was true. He wanted the boy's help to restore the balance of light and darkness in the world. But that was only part of the story. Best not to let him know the rest just yet. It would probably spook him. Or make him think that Shirogane was lying. Or crazy.

Shirogane cleared his throat. "I'm here on authority of Shisui..." He trailed off when the boy gave him a blank look. (That road leads nowhere.) "Umm, the second king of the light...?" he prompted. Still looking suspicious, the boy nodded uncertainly. "I've been helping your side in the war for...a while now, but things are really starting to get out of hand, so I'd like to request your help," he finished. He had no idea whether the boy believed him or not. He wasn't sure whether he believed himself or not.

The boy continued to frown. "I've never heard of a Shin that was on our side before," he said. Still wary, then. Shirogane couldn't blame him. He wasn't exactly telling the whole truth. But one thing he'd said earlier was something he absolutely believed; he had no intentions of harming this boy. He just needed to make the child believe it, too...

Still frowning, although it looked more like an expression of confusion now than distrust, the boy glanced at the position of the moon through the hole in the roof. Gasping, he muttered, "It's already that late...!" Looking hurriedly back at Shirogane, he said quickly "Listen, I've got to get going-"

"No!" Shirogane shouted. Staggering to his feet, it was all he could do to hold himself back from lunging at the boy, who for his part, looked ready to bolt at the sudden movement. Gritting his teeth, Shirogane said in a more even tone, "I'll go with you."

"No," the other said immediately, still looking distrustful. "I can get back on my own." The undercurrent being that he didn't want Shirogane to know where he was going, or where their base was, perhaps.

Shirogane didn't care about all of that, though; he just didn't want the child to disappear without a trace, after all this time... "Will you agree to meet me again somewhere, at least?" he questioned in a last ditch attempt. "To further discuss things? You can even pick the place," he added hastily, seeing a suspicion growing in the other's eyes.

The boy hesitated, then said, "Fine. I'll meet you back at the construction sight where I first noticed you," he said finally. Shirogane nodded instantly. "Would you be willing to come in the daytime?" Shirogane nodded once more. "Fine, be there at noon tomorrow," the boy concluded. He turned around and prepared to jump out of the hole above them and onto the roof.

"Wait!" Shirogane called again. The boy turned around with a questioning look, wondering what more Shirogane had to say. In truth, Shirogane wasn't sure what he was going to say either. What came out was, "What's your name?" (Fool, you already know what his name is, its Ryu-)

"Akira," the boy said in a vaguely surprised tone of voice. Perhaps he had not expected to be asked that question. "Akira Nikaido."

Shirogane nodded and swallowed. "It's nice to meet you, Akira Nikaido..."

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**And so it begins. **

**I'm not sure how often this is going to be updated, FYI. Hopefully there'll be a chapter at least once every other week but while I'm still in school I wouldn't count on it. And I'm probably going to have to sign up for a summer class to make up for a missing credit... *sigh***


	4. Chapter 3: Shirogane

**Disclaimer: I do not own Monochrome Factor**

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Akira was far from sure about whether he had made the right decision. On the surface, agreeing to meet the Shin again was tantamount to walking into a trap. And there was not telling how angry Kou was going to be about this. Akira wasn't sure what to tell him, or even if he should tell him at all. Really, why had he done it? He didn't trust the guy in the slightest, except... He felt the Shin's arms around him once more, protecting him from the falling boards, feeling the muffled thuds reverberating from the Shin's body to his own. It had been terrifying, being held by someone who should be an enemy, the roof falling down on top of them, not knowing what was going on... And yet, despite everything, Akira had felt strangely _protected._

Well, maybe that was because he _was_ being protected. At least, that's certainly how it seemed. The guy had taken some hits for him, after all. But everything Kou had told him about the Shin said that they were mortal enemies. But if that was the case, then why protect him? To get on his good side, maybe? Get him to let his guard down...?

Akira raised his eyes skyward and sighed. He was in over his head, and he was man enough to admit it. He was going to have to tell Kou about it, even if only to get some advice. Speaking of which...

"Where have you been!?" asked an anxious voice as soon as he walked through the door. Kou ran up to him and grabbed his shoulders, checking him over for injuries. "Are you alright?" he demanded, not satisfied with the apparent lack of bloodstains or torn clothing.

"I'm fine," Akira assured him. "I just had a little, um, run-in with someone..." he added, running his hand nervously through his jet-black hair.

"A run-in?" said Kou, who seemed a little more relaxed now that Akira was back safe. "With who?" His eyes narrowed. "You didn't end up fighting some kokuchi, did you?"

"No," said Akira truthfully. Earlier on, Kou had drawn them off with instructions to stay behind and seal the portal that had popped up in the warehouse district. Akira had protested, saying it would be better to stick together and fight them, then return and seal the portal after. But Kou had insisted, saying that kokuchi tended to move as a pack, so staying behind to take care of the portal would actually be safer, since all of the surrounding kokuchi were sure to leave. "But making it easier for me like that would make it much more dangerous for you!" Akira had almost shouted, at the risk of giving away their position. After shushing him, Kou had said, "It doesn't matter. Your safety is more important than anything." And despite Akira's continuous objections, Kou had refused to listen, and in the end they had gone with this plan.

And that was how they had ended up getting separated in the warehouse district. After sealing the portal, Akira had jumped up to the top of the building under construction, looking for any kokuchi that had been separated from the pack, and had been hailed by a Shin of all things.

"So what did you run into?" asked Kou, breaking into his thoughts.

Akira hesitated. How should he tell Kou about what had happened? In the end, he decided that Kou had the right to know, but considering how worried he was about Akira just being late, he would probably explode if Akira told him about the Shin straight out. So he decided to use a more roundabout method. "Um," he began "you know how you told me to run away if I ever met a Shin while you weren't around?"

Kou frowned, then said slowly, "Yes..." And then something seemed to click in his eyes.

Okay, so this wasn't exactly as roundabout as he wanted, but Kou knew he wasn't injured, so maybe he wouldn't freak out too bad-

"YOU MET A SHIN!?" Kou seized Akira's arm and dragged him closer, pulling him into a protective one-armed embrace. "Where are they?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?! Are you hurt?!"

"I thought we had already established that I was uninjured," said Akira wryly from his position next to Kou, where he was in danger of being crushed into the other's side. "And don't worry, I made sure I wasn't followed back here."

Kou relaxed, though only slightly. "So they're not here?" he questioned in a more relaxed, though admittedly still guarded tone.

"No," Akira assured him. "After I spotted him, I ran away like you said. He chased me, and he was catching up, so I tried to get away faster and ended up falling through a roof. I'm fine," he added sincerely, looking directly into Kou's eyes so he wouldn't interrupt again. Akira appreciated Kou's concern, he really did, but sometimes he found it a little overbearing. It was one of the few things about Kou he never fully understood: Why did he act so crazy when it came to Akira's safety?

Knowing he would get no answers even if he asked, Akira shook off the question and continued. "In fact, it's possible that the only reason I'm fine is because the Shin protected me."

Kou gave him a disbelieving look. "Why would he do that?"

"I don't know," answered Akira honestly. "But he did. And I suppose I should mention that while he was chasing me he kept saying 'I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk!' and things like that. I didn't believe him at first, but after..."

Kou frowned, then looked at Akira questioningly. "What happened next?"

"Well, the Shin got knocked out while he was helping me, so I stuck around to see whether he was alright..."

"You should have immediately left the scene when you saw he was incapacitated," Kou scolded him. "What if it had been a trick to let your guard down?"

"I waited well outside of striking distance," Akira said calmly, "and anyway it wasn't a feint. He really got knocked out. Or do you think I'm at level where I can't tell if someone's really unconscious or not?"

"No," agreed Kou. "You have pretty sharp senses. Even so, you shouldn't take chances."

Akira sighed, half from amusement, and half from irritation. "So you keep telling me," he said in exasperation. "Anyway, after he woke up he said he was here on the authority of some guy named, uh, Shisui I think..."

"That's ridiculous," said Kou. "Shisui would never sanction a Shin being here."

Akira blinked. "So this 'Shisui' is really the second king of the Rei?"

Kou seemed surprised, but after a moment he nodded. "I suppose I forgot to tell you about that," he said thoughtfully. "Yes, because the other king of the light is currently...absent"-strangely,Kou looked away here-"Shisui is currently the being with the greatest authority in the light realm." He frowned again, however. "Although I haven't seen him in a really long time, I can't imagine he's changed so much that he'd let a Shin run free in the light world, any more than I can imagine a Shin coming over to our side." Suddenly, Kou's face hardened. "Hey Aki, what did this guy look like? Did you get a name?"

"He never mentioned his name," said Akira thoughtfully, "but I got a pretty good look at him while we were talking. He was dressed all in black, and carried a cane with a silver head. He also wore a kind of old-fashioned black hat. He had long silver hair in a braid, and blue eyes..."

Akira stopped here, because he had noticed a peculiar expression come over Kou's face. It was almost a look of...disbelief. "What's wrong?" Akira asked. "Do you know him?"

"It couldn't be," Kou muttered. "No, that's impossible. He's dead."

"Who's dead?" asked Akira. "What are you talking about?"

But it seemed as if Kou could not hear him anymore. "But if it was him, then Shisui actually might... Still, all of that guy's children definitely died, so how is he still..." Shaking his head, Kou muttered "I'll believe it when I see it..." He then looked back at Akira, as if suddenly remembering he was there. "Hey Aki, do you know where this guy went?"

"No," Akira said, resigning himself to the fact that he probably wasn't going to get anything out of Kou. "But I'm supposed to meet him tomorrow at noon, at the construction site near the edge of the warehouse district."

Kou nodded. "I'll go meet him instead. You stay here."

"No," said Akira, adamant this time. "If he made a meeting with me only to see another Rei show up, then he might just run off. I'll go and see him, and you cover me."

Kou hesitated, but then finally said, "Alright. If its who I think it is then we don't have anything to worry about. But if its not, then I'm coming after you."

"Fair enough," Akira nodded. As Kou began to turn away, Akira reached out a hand and said "Hey Kou, wait a minute." At Kou's questioning look, Akira said softly, "Who...do you think this guy is?"

Kou let out a breath. "Well, I suppose if we're going to be meeting him you'll have to know," he said, "although mind you, I don't know anything for sure at this point." He stopped to consider his next words. "From your description, he sounds an awful lot like a Shin I used to know. But this guy was no ordinary Shin." His expression turned grim. "In fact, he was the Direct King of Shin."

"What?" said Akira, astonished. "The guy that got knocked out by plywood?"

Kou cracked a smile at that. "Oh, yeah, I'm gonna have to remember that." He snickered. "Remember it for a long time...but anyway, yeah, it sounds like the same guy to me. And it would certainly explain a lot about his actions, and the way he treated you..." Kou trailed off. Suddenly looking uncomfortable, he once again turned away from Akira, who was still in his Rei form.

"Wait," said Akira. For some reason he couldn't explain, he felt intrigued by the subject of this strange Shin, and he didn't want this conversation to end. So when Kou turned back to look at him, he asked the first question that came to mind. "Um...What's his name?"

Kou blinked, surprised. Maybe he hadn't expected Akira to ask that. Then his expression turned grim. "His name is...Shirogane."

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**Hello again. Another update in less than a week. Surprised? I am. **

**I'm supposed to be writing a paper for school right now, but this chapter was done so I wanted to get it out there. I really don't know when the next one's coming though. Seriously, the only reason I managed to get the other chapters up so fast was because chapters one and two were pre-written before I even posted this story. **

**But there's still hope. I managed to get this one written faster than I expected, so hopefully that trend will continue. I'll try!**

**Now if you'll excuse me, I really do have to go write that paper...**


	5. Chapter 4: Waiting

**Disclaimer: I do not own Monochrome Factor.**

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Shirogane spent the hours between meeting the boy (Akira?) and noon the following day at the very construction site they were due to meet at. He'd gone there directly from the warehouse after he had recovered his balance from being struck on the head. In truth, he could not think of where else to go. There were no workers at the site (had it, too, been abandoned?) so he was free to hop right up onto a high beam and just stand there in mixed anticipation and dread. He had not followed Akira from the warehouse earlier, even though he probably could have managed it, because he did not want to inspire any more distrust in the boy than he apparently already did. So he went to the site and waited, waited for the person he had spent forever searching for...

As the sun crested the horizon and rose higher in the sky it seemed to be mocking him with its slow pace, and by midmorning he wanted to scream at it to hurry up. When would he come? _Would _he come? Or had it all been a dream, a hallucination after all. Maybe he had finally cracked. But then he would remember the young face, the short hair, the drastically different clothing and think there was no way he could have imagined all that, right? If he were to imagine seeing Ryuuko again, surely he would look the same as always, not strangely different and similar all at once. So he was real, then. The person he had sought for so long and finally found, the person who he wanted to be with more than any other, he was really here-

"Hello," said a calm yet wary voice. It was startlingly close. Shirogane had not perceived the arrival of another person, he was so lost in his thoughts. But there he was. The boy who looked like Ryuuko, Akira, was standing on another crossbeam a little ways away.

"Hello," Shirogane replied cautiously. He did not attempt to approach Akira, even though he wanted to very much, because he had the feeling that action would not be very well received. However, before he could decide to do anything else, he felt another presence approach him from behind. Whirling around with his cane upraised, he stopped suddenly and gaped at the person who stood there.

"I never thought we'd meet again, Shirogane," said Kou in a voice that sounded like he was rolling a sweet-and-sour candy around in his mouth.

"It can't be," Shirogane breathed. "That's impossible. You're dead."

"Is everyone around here dead besides me?" Akira groaned behind him.

Before Shirogane stood Kou. He couldn't believe it, but there he was. There was no mistaking that messy black hair and the faint outline of a smile that he always seemed to have on his face, especially when he wasn't happy and trying not to show it. He was wearing that not-smile now, while watching Shirogane with a look that said he wasn't altogether pleased to see him.

Once Shirogane recovered from his shock, he wasn't all that pleased to see Kou either. The implications of him still being alive were starting to occur to Shirogane, and he was becoming increasingly angry. If Kou was here, then Ryuuko's theory that Kou would survive the death of his king had been proven right. But more importantly than that, Kou had always been with Ryuuko, had followed him wherever he went. Shirogane remembered being particularly irked by that, back in the old days. But because of that, Shirogane could not imagine that Kou had been absent when Ryuuko perished. Surely, he had been right by his side when Hammurabi had...

So if that was the case, then what had Kou done? Run and hid? Stood by and _watched?_ Shirogane felt fury crawling from the pit of his stomach up his throat, like forming ice crystals, so cold it burned. When it finally burst forth, it was like a blast of frigid arctic air.

Shirogane gave Kou a smile that was as cold and sweet as ice cream, and half whispered, "I was thinking the same thing, Kou. Tell me, why are you still alive?"

His smile seemed to disconcert Kou. He grimaced. "What's up with that nice-guy look? It's freaking me out."

"Don't change the subject!"

"Ahh, there he is, there's the Shirogane I know." Kou tried for a real smile but failed, eventually settling back into his not-smile. He glanced behind Shirogane at Akira. "Can we talk about this somewhere else?"

Shirogane had almost forgotten about the boy at his back. He glanced behind him. Akira was looking at them both with poorly disguised interest, straining to catch every word. Seeing them look over at him, Akira sidled closer and called out mock-casually, "So, you guys _do_ know each other then?"

Kou and Shirogane both sensed the hidden question in his words, or perhaps questions would be more appropriate, but neither chose to answer what was left unspoken. "Yes Aki, this is the Shirogane I told you about," Kou answered. "I know him from before the war broke out. That was a _looooong _time ago. But I honestly thought he was dead. And apparently, he thought the same thing about me."

"So," said Shirogane, unwilling to back off, "are you going to tell me why you're still alive? I'm waiting."

Kou sighed. "I might as well tell you," he muttered, "since you're not going to back off until I do." He called over to Akira, "We're going back to the house, okay Aki?" Akira nodded. "Alright," Kou said, turning back to Shirogane, "prepare yourself. You're about to see where I live." And with a mischievous wink, he leaped off the building, leaving Shirogane to catch up on his own.

* * *

**Hello again. I'm sorry that not much plot seems to be happening yet. I feel like I have to get through some backstory first, which apparently involves a lot of talking... **

**Things will pick up though, I promise. Hopefully soon. **

**Thanks for reading, and please review!**


	6. Chapter 5: Friends

**Disclaimer: I do not own Monochrome Factor.**

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Aya Suzuno was in a rather foul mood. But that was normal for her.

Why was **she** always the one who had to go get those lazy guys and bring them back to class? Shouldn't that be somebody else's job? She wasn't a truant officer. Grumbling to herself as she climbed the stairs to the roof, she swore that if either of them were up there goofing off she'd hit them with her shinai **so hard** they wouldn't wake up for a week. Well, she'd hit Kengo anyway. For some reason, she never seemed quite able to get Akira, as he was always somehow one step ahead of her. Well, whatever. She'd just give Akira's share to Kengo by hitting him twice as much. Grinning cheerfully (or sadistically) at the thought, she kicked opened the door to the roof. As it rebounded off the wall with a noisy clang, Aya raised her shinai over her head and prepared to swing it down with the strength of a thousand men.

"...Huh?"

There was nobody there. Flabbergasted, Aya looked around the empty rooftop again. And she had been so sure that they'd be here. Feeling disappointed and frustrated that she had walked up all those steps and hadn't even gotten to hit someone (Kengo), Aya turned around and started heading back downstairs, slamming the door shut behind her for good measure. Where could those two idiots **be**? Well, if they wanted to play hide and seek with her, fine. The longer it took her to find them, the more punishment they (Kengo) would receive. Hefting her shinai over her shoulder once more, Aya set out to search and destroy.

[Black and White]

Akira Nikaido and Kengo Asamura had been best friends ever since Akira's first week of middle school. He transferred in halfway through their second year, which was very unusual, so he had an air of mystery about him. It didn't last. When the teacher asked him to introduce himself, his face lit up brightly and he said, "Hello! My name is Akira Nikaido. It's very nice to meet you. I'm never on time, I'm bilingual, and my favorite food is ice cream! I hope we can all be great friends!"

The class gaped at him, Kengo included. That was the weirdest greeting any of them had heard in their young lives. However in spite of that, or perhaps because of it, Kengo felt a stirring of hope in his chest.

-Since this person is different, and I'm different, then maybe he's someone who will want to be my friend?-

Kengo tried, at least at first. He wanted to get closer to Akira, and find out what he was really like. More importantly, since Akira was new, he didn't know about the Incident that Kengo was involved in recently. Because of that, Akira wouldn't reject any overtures of friendship that Kengo made out of hand like the other kids did.

But it was all in vain. Rather than driving the other kids away, Akira's strange self-introduction only served to heighten their curiosity. Everyone wanted to be near him, talk to him, find out what the other language he could speak was, what flavor of ice cream was his favorite, etc. Kengo couldn't get a word in edgewise. Not that the other kids would let him, even if he asked. Nobody liked him anymore. Not after the Incident.

Still, he persevered. This was his last chance at making a friend in school, as he saw it. So he hung around in the back of the crowd, afraid to get closer, standing on tiptoes to peer over their shoulders.

It soon became obvious to everyone that Akira was a natural born people person. He was funny, engaging, and sympathetic by turns, always looking everyone straight in the eye while talking to them. And on top of that, he was just plain nice, and was even a great athlete to boot. Needless to say, he attracted a lot of admirers in the space of just a few days. But as the number of people who vied for his attention increased, Kengo began to lose hope that he would ever be noticed. Finally, near the end of the first week Kengo became so desperate that he decided to speak up. He was more convinced than ever that someone so popular would never want to be friends with an outcast like him, but his heart had become so set on this that he couldn't forgive himself for not trying. So one day during break, when Akira had attracted the usual crowd, Kengo wormed his way to the front and, during a lull in the conversation, said, "Hey. Um, do you want to be my friend?"

A deep silence suddenly infused the group. Aghast, Kengo took a step back. Of course, he hadn't meant for it to come out like that. He had meant to say something cool and witty and smart, like the things that always seemed to be coming out of Akira's mouth. But instead, his deepest desire had just come spilling out of his mouth. Horrified, Kengo tried to run away, but the other kids wouldn't let him. Closing ranks behind him, they sneered at him-all of them except Akira, who looked bewildered by the sudden change in atmosphere. Before he had a chance to say anything, the other kids started to jeer,

"Why would Akira want to be friends with _you_?" "Yeah, a loser like you? Akira's too cool for you." "What are you even doing here anyway? Didn't we tell you to stay away form us?" "Yeah! No one wants to hang out with a kid who's _cursed._" "Yeah, what if we get cursed too?" "Go away!" "Yeah! "YEAH!"

But despite their yelling at him to go away, they only pressed in closer, surrounding him. Any protest Kengo or anyone else might have made was lost in the maelstrom of voices shrieking and colliding from every corner. With a strength born of desperation, Kengo forced his way through the crowd, and ran off behind the school. He stopped when he was sure they weren't following him, and sat down on some steps. And there he began to cry, great shuddering sobs that shook his small shoulders. That couldn't have gone any worse if he'd been _trying_ to sabotage it. And now Akira would find out for sure, about the Incident, what with all the kids yelling about how Kengo was cursed.

He'd probably thought Kengo was some kind of idiot on top of that, to march right up to him and just blurt that out. And he'd said it in front of _everyone, _too. How could he ever go into that classroom and face those kids again? He buried his face in his hands and sobbed harder. It was over.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Glancing up in surprise, Kengo could just make out Akira's features through his blurred vision. Hastily trying to wipe his face, even though he knew it was futile and that Akira must have already seen him crying, Kengo tried to put on a brave front and said, "What are you -hic- doing here?"

"I wanted to see if you were okay," Akira said simply.

Kengo snorted. More likely he had come to gawk, and maybe get in a few catcalls of his own. But strangely, when Kengo looked around he didn't see any of Akira's entourage there. It was just the two of them, alone for the first time.

Seeing Kengo glancing around and guessing the cause, Akira smiled gently and said, "I snuck off to find you in all the confusion. I didn't think having them come with me would make you feel better." He hesitated, then said, "Your name's Kengo, right? I've seen you standing near the back sometimes, although you've never said anything before. Umm, you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but I was wondering, what did the other kids mean when they said you were cursed?"

Kengo's shoulders drooped even more. So that was it. Akira wasn't driven to seek him out because of altruism, but rather morbid curiosity. Laughing bitterly, Kengo said, "Why not ask the others? I'm sure they'll tell you everything."

"I wanted to hear it from you," said Akira quietly.

"Fine," Kengo snapped. His chance of ever making friends with Akira was already ruined anyway, so why not? "Strange things have been happening around me lately. Things people can't explain. At first everyone thought that it was all just a coincidence, but then one day there was this Incident where some kids dared me to go on a test of courage in an abandoned building..." He sniffed. "It felt weird in there, like the darkness was too thick or something, I dunno... After I got that feeling I must have blacked out or fainted, because I don't really remember what happened next, but when I came to I saw that all the other kids were covered in injuries. When I asked them who did it, they all pointed at me and said, 'You.' I really don't remember hurting them, but all the other kids were saying that I was possessed, and treating me like I'm different." Kengo sniffed again, waiting for Akira to call him a liar, or a freak, or maybe just leave.

Instead, Akira looked thoughtful. "Hmmm," he said. "Well, I wonder if I can't help you with that."

"What?" said Kengo, confused. This was not the reaction he had been expecting.

Smiling, Akira explained, "You may not believe me, but I have a...condition that's similar to yours. Well, similar yet different." He smiled at Kengo, a real genuine smile. "So I guess we can be different together. I'm glad," he added softly, "to have found someone like me."

Kengo was stunned. Was Akira making fun of him? Playing some kind of joke? But Akira was looking him right in the eye, the same way he did with everyone when he spoke to them. There was no trace of deceit or mischief in those solemn and gentle grey eyes.

After gazing awhile at Kengo's tear-streaked face with what seemed to be a look of debate, Akira suddenly put his hand behind his back and seemed to concentrate for some reason. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but it seemed to Kengo that there was a soft flash of light behind him. Relaxing, Akira pulled his hand out from behind his back to reveal a handkerchief, white and bordered with gold, clutched in his hand. "Where did that come from?" Kengo wondered.

"My back pocket," said Akira, averting his gaze for the first time. "Here, wipe your face."

Somewhat mystified, Kengo took the handkerchief and almost gasped. It was much lighter and softer than it looked, finer even than silk. It felt cool and almost like water against his bare skin, and the weaving was so tight he couldn't even see the threads. It was as if someone had sheared the clouds, and woven this cloth with threads of vapor.

"I can't wipe my dirty face on this!" exclaimed Kengo. "It's too...beautiful." Blushing at being caught saying something girly, he added hastily, "And it probably costs a lot of money too!"

"It's alright," said Akira, who for some reason looked amused. "Go on," he added when Kengo continued to hesitate. Kengo wiped his face, reluctantly at first but then with more vigor. The cloth was cool and soothing against his red and irritated skin, which was swollen from crying.

Handing the now soiled handkerchief back to Akira, he said, "Thanks. Um, what's that thing made out of anyway?"

Akira's smile faded as he looked at the handkerchief. "Light," he said, so softly that Kengo wasn't sure he had said it all. Before Kengo could ask again, Akira suddenly looked up and said, "Hey, want to see something neat?"

"Sure?" said Kengo, uncertainly.

Akira bundled the soiled wad of cloth up in one hand until nothing of it could be seen, and then held out his clenched fist toward Kengo. "Alright, watch." At first, nothing happened. Then, another mysterious and gentle flash of light seemed to shine through Akira's fingers, along with what looked like the strange rippling effect that comes from heat rising off the pavement in summer. Akira opened his fist to reveal that the handkerchief was gone.

"Wow, how did you do that?!" exclaimed Kengo.

"Magic," said Akira with a mischievous wink. Then his expression sobered. "You're the first person I've shown that to besides my mom. Please don't tell anybody else about it. Mom said I'm not supposed to show people."

"Oh," said Kengo, nodding. "I won't. Promise."

After nodding as well, Akira held out his hand to Kengo, and said a little bashfully, "Hey...do you want to be my friend?"

Kengo gaped at him. "Me?" he asked in disbelief. "But you could have your pick of friends from the others!"

"Maybe," shrugged Akira. "But I think its better to have one real friend than a bunch of fake ones."

Kengo shook his head, not really understanding. "Is this because we're alike, or whatever? Or because you showed me that magic trick?"

"Partly," Akira admitted. "I mean, we're sharing a secret now right? But," he added a little bashfully, "its mostly because you're the first person who's asked."

Slowly reaching up from where he was sitting, Kengo's hesitant fingers came into contact with Akira's own just as the bell signaling the end of break rang. Pulling Kengo up from the steps to stand beside him, he said, "Come on. We should hurry or we'll be late for class." And without letting go of Kengo's hand even for a moment, he pulled him back toward the front of the school, where the other kids were waiting. But strangely, Kengo's worries about facing his classmates were forgotten as he raced behind Akira's back, struggling to keep up with the more athletic boy, but never once faltering in his step.

[Black and White]

Kengo ran through the streets, checking all of their usual hangouts. Akira wasn't on the school roof, he wasn't at the arcade, or even the coffee shop the two of them frequented on the way home from school.

(Where are you?)

There had been rumors of a Phantom Killer haunting the streets, and Kengo hadn't heard a word from Akira since they separated to go home last night... What if something had happened? Sure, Akira could hold his own against pretty much any guy in school, but schoolyard bullies were one thing; a serial killer was in a totally different weight class. And it wasn't like Akira to skip school, either. It was common for him to be late (he was almost every day), but he was never completely absent without good reason. Kengo couldn't help but be worried.

And so he ran, searching for the person who mattered most to him-the person who was always just ahead of him, whom he could never quite catch up to, but who always gave him the courage to try.

* * *

**Sorry this one took so long to post! But I made it extra long to make up for it. (I also had finals the last two weeks, which slowed me down even more…)**

**Also, more backstory. Again. I'm sorry if this is taking too long to get to the plot (which will begin in earnest in the next chapter) but one thing I found frustrating in the original Monochrome Factor was the dearth of background info, especially in the first two-thirds of the manga, where we are forced to continuously ask "Who the hell is this Ryuuko person they keep flashing back to?!" and other such questions. (Of course, I probably shouldn't complain because I'm most likely going to do something similar, but at least you all already know who he is, right?)**

**On a side note, you may have noticed I used bold instead of italics to to highlight Aya's section. Its not a mistake or anything; its just that she seems more like a bold person to me. ;) **


	7. Chapter 6: Phantom

**__I don't own Monochrome Factor.**

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_Weaklings. _

Nanaya sneered in contempt. Watching the humans walk by on the nearby street, he felt grateful he was not one of them; plodding along in their ordinary lives, slow and soft, like cattle. Casually pulling out his curved knife, Nanaya playfully licked it and grinned. Who should he have fun with tonight...

Of course, it would not be as easy as it had been at first. The humans were onto him now; rumors of a "Phantom Killer" that no one could see were oozing out of the shadows and being hinted at by every unexplained noise on the streets. But that was all right. It added more challenge to the game. They were on their guard now, and thus were less likely to wander down back alleys and side streets like the ones he haunted. And those that did were either suicidally overconfident or too dumb to live. But if that was the case, then those people no longer deserved to be alive anyway, right?

Chuckling darkly, Nanaya leaned against a high garden wall and waited for some prey to pass by.

Why he was killing these people was a question he never asked himself, mostly because he didn't have an answer. Perhaps, subconsciously, it had something to do with Nanaya's own feelings of inadequacy, as he was easily the weakest of all the shin children in existence. And whenever he was in the world of shadow, he would be mocked by the others, constantly feeling inferior and even terrified due to the knowledge that they could kill him at any time they wished. And so he retreated to the world of light, where _he_ was the strong one, _he_ was the one in control and others lives were held in the palm of _his_ hand-the hand that held a long, curved knife that is. Life was short for these people anyway, he reasoned. No one would care if one or two of them just disappeared.

_The same way no one cares if you disappear,_ said a small voice in his head. He ignored it.

Suddenly, he stiffened. Someone was coming down the street towards him. Nanaya eagerly licked his lips and prepared to strike.

Then he paused. Did he have to attack immediately? Why not wait a little bit? He considered, then decided to stay put until after the human had passed by. It would be a greater puzzle for the humans if the wounds appeared on the back of the body this time, and his prey might even try to run. Amused by the thought, he leaned back against the wall and put his knife in his pocket, content for the time being to let his quarry come to him.

[Black and White]

Aya hurried home. She couldn't **believe** those two idiots! Skipping school and making her search all over the campus trying to find them when they weren't even **there!**

Grrrrr... She was going to hit them (Kengo) so hard they wouldn't...um...wouldn't even know what hit them! Yeah!

Aya spontaneously performed a fist pump in line with her thoughts, blinked, then quickly looked around for anyone who might have seen. There was only one person standing nearby, some shady looking guy around her age wearing a baseball cap pulled low over his face. He wasn't looking at her, and with his hat like that he probably hadn't seen...

Aya was about to dismiss him when suddenly she felt something was **off** about the guy. What, she couldn't say, only that the senses her father had honed to perfection through countless hours in the dojo were causing her throat to go dry and her skin to tighten, raising goosebumps along her arms. Suddenly, she thought of the Phantom Killer that everyone had been talking about recently, and that her father had warned her to watch out for. (Whether to avoid being hurt by him or so she could beat the crap out of him, Aya didn't know.) Still, she had been told to keep an eye out for suspicious individuals, and that guy was sending up red flag in her mind.

Still, she would be late if she turned back and took another route now, and besides, she had her shinai with her. She wasn't some helpless damsel in distress. And the odds of her running into **the **Phantom Killer out of the blue were astronomically small. She couldn't really see his face because of his hat, but at the worst he was probably just some mugger, or a junkie waiting for his dealer. Either way, Aya was quite certain she could handle the situation if it came to that.

So she boldly strode forward into the alley, watching the guy from the corner of her eye without appearing to. She gripped the hilt of her shinai as she passed by him, thinking he might make a move. But all he did was stand there, faceless as a statue covered in a patchy and layered darkness, like cobwebs spun of shadow.

Aya kept walking. She relaxed marginally as she passed outside of his striking range, but kept watching as well as she was able, keeping her head turned slightly to the side so she could just see him in her peripheral vision. And so she noticed immediately when he appeared to detach from the wall, slowly pulling away from the shadows that seemed to stretch to their breaking point trying to hold onto him, their dark gossamer threads slowly snapping and falling away. For a moment she wondered if that was some kind of optical illusion, a trick of the light played on the corner of her eye-and then she noticed the knife.

Aya whirled just as he leaped, the sharp blade hissing through the space she had occupied less than a second ago. But even as she dodged she was bringing up her own weapon, intending to counterattack. She swung her shinai horizontally, intending to catch him in the side as he landed, using the momentum of his own leap and the impact of her attack to knock him off balance. But he jumped away from her impossibly fast, almost seeming to change direction in mid-air. Her swing missed, and her attacker settled on the ground outside of striking range.

Aya brought up her shinai and settled into a stance, watching her opponent carefully. His blade may be steel, and hers bamboo, but she had the advantage of range. She would not go down without a fight.

Unexpectedly, the man before her spoke. "You can _see_ me?" he said incredulously. He seemed truly stunned. His knife was still in his hand, but it hung down by his side, apparently forgotten.

Not letting her guard down, Aya responded, "Of course I can see you! What do you think you're doing, slashing at people with a knife! I could have been hurt!" Of course, Aya knew that was the point, but she still hoped that by bringing the reality of what he was doing home to him, she could make him back off and thus avoid fighting. The image of that next-to-impossible dodge he had made hovered at the edges of her memory, making her uneasy.

"How is this possible?" he demanded. He seemed to be trying to peer inside of her for something she couldn't see. "You don't have a factor of darkness or light. You shouldn't be able to see or hear me. What's going on?"

That's what I'd like to know, thought Aya. Maybe he is some kind of druggie after all, someone who'd just had a fix or gone too long without one. But the eye she could see under the brim of his cap looked clear, muddled only by confusion.

Suddenly, that eye brightened. "Well, isn't this interesting?" he murmured. "Prey that can not only run, but fight back... Well, who am I to question the gift that fate has given me?" He raised his knife and grinned. "How about it? Want to play a little before you die?"

Aya tensed her muscles. She could tell that this guy was serious. Underneath that mocking tone was a deranged eagerness for violence she had never felt before. Her skin shrank against her, raising hairs all along her body. Her mouth opened up into a fierce scowl that was almost a snarl.

Beating back her fear, Aya prepared to defend herself.

* * *

**Sorry this one's a little late. (Or, you know, a lot late.) I intended to have this one out much sooner, but I couldn't seem to make the beginning of this chapter work for some reason. I tried a bunch of different things, and ended up having to walk away from it. Then it finally occurred to me that I had to write the beginning from _Nanaya's _P.O.V. After that, everything just fell into place. :)**

**On a related note, I'm discovering that Aya's P.O.V. is a lot of fun to write. :D**

**Thanks for reading! Review too! **


	8. Chapter 7: Out of the Past

**Disclaimer: I don't own Monochrome Factor. If I did, there would be more Ryuuko.**

* * *

"Welcome to the Kou-cave," said Kou proudly, sweeping his hand out to encompass the entirety of his "cave."

In actual fact, his place was pretty posh, with smooth white walls and floors and expensive-looking furniture. And not a speck of dust could be seen on any surface. In fact, it looked less like a cave and more like a ritzy bachelor pad.

So Shirogane couldn't help raising an eyebrow at Kou and asking, "Why do you call it the Kou-cave?"

"Because I couldn't call it the Bat-cave," said Kou, as if it were obvious. He gestured at the pristine white ceiling. "See? No bats."

Shirogane shook his head, not understanding. It was probably just some weird thing Kou made up. Sighing loud enough for Kou to hear, Shirogane took a seat in one of the comfy-looking chairs in one corner. The boy named Akira followed him, and sat down in a chair on the other side of the glass coffee table.

Kou plopped himself down in a chair at the head of the table, grinned as broadly as possible into Shirogane's scowling face and said, "So, care for a drink?"

Shirogane suppressed the sudden and overwhelming urge to bash Kou in the head with his cane. He settled on explaining, "This isn't a social visit. I want to know what's going on here, and what you've been doing all this time." He glanced meaningfully at the boy sitting across from him, in case Kou needed a reminder.

Kou nodded solemnly. "Coffee it is, then." And before Shirogane could say anything else, Kou stood up and sauntered off towards the kitchen, leaving him alone with the boy who still looked uncomfortably like Ryuuko.

Shirogane eyed him while trying to appear indifferent. He had apparently "changed back" into a human (at least, that's how it had been explained to him). His eyes were now grey instead of red, and his hair was brown instead of black. His wardrobe had also shimmered and transformed into a school uniform. Still, these changes were largely cosmetic, and it was still the same face under that unruly mop of hair. And there was also the same look was in his eyes, somehow managing to be both inquisitive and knowing at the same time.

"Is it true?" asked the boy abruptly.

Caught off guard, Shirogane automatically asked, "Is what true?"

"Are you really the Direct King of Shin?" the child replied, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Um, yes." Shirogane didn't know how much the child knew, and he didn't want to say the wrong thing and frighten him off again. But he also didn't want to lie...not to that face. He grit his teeth. This was going to be harder than he thought.

Unexpectedly, the child's face lit up. "Really? Wow, that's amazing! So you're actually, like, the personification of darkness then, right? What's that like? Where did you come from? How were you born? Do kokuchi have to listen to everything you say? Is it hard to be a tuner? What are you doing in the light world? How come you're on our side? Do you have to eat and drink? Do you like coffee?" he finished as Kou returned with three steaming mugs.

"Um...I like coffee, but only if its black," replied Shirogane. The questions had come so fast that he had only been able to respond to the last one. He reached out and tentatively took a sip of the concoction that Kou had placed before him. He then looked over at his host. "Kou?"

"Yes?"

"This coffee is extremely sweet."

"Oh yes, I put at least eight spoonfuls of sugar in it."

"..."

Shirogane put his mug down with a decisive_ thunk. _"Anyway," he said, trying very hard not to throttle Kou in front of Akira, "are you going to tell me what's going on or not?"

"Sure," said Kou. "I guess I _do_ owe you an explanation." He glanced over at Akira. "And I might owe you one as well," he added a little guiltily.

Akira blinked, as though surprised by this. Shirogane wondered, for the umpteenth time, what the boy already knew, and what he thought about all this.

Resisting the urge to ask him, he instead turned to Kou, who seemed to be mulling over what to say. "Alright," Kou finally said. "I'll start from the beginning." He turned to the boy. "Do you remember the basics from the book I gave you to read about the dark and the light?"

Akira nodded immediately. "Sure." He cleared his throat, and began to recite.

"There are two worlds, both mirrors of each other. Neither is the true world, because one could not exist without the other. In these worlds, there are existences called tuners, who are not born of man but rather are embodiments of their respective element." He glanced at Shirogane. "Their job has been to keep the worlds in balance since the time before time. They have to do this, because without maintenance the worlds naturally try and encroach upon each other. Some time ago, however, the tuners found that they could no longer maintain the balance by themselves, even with the aid of their hakua and kokuchi helpers. So they sought human aid. They enlightened a chosen few, those who naturally possessed factors of darkness or light, who agreed to leave their ordinary lives and receive power beyond imagining. The tuner of shadow," and here he hesitated, glancing at Shirogane again before continuing on, "wished to call them his servants. However, the tuner of light intervened, exclaiming that because they had lost their families (who had been made to forget their very existence; such was the price of power,) they should become a new family, and the humans their children. The tuner of shadow, who had been opposed to asking humans for help from the start, balked at this; but the humans took a liking to this idea, and so the name remained.

"The children then asked what they should call their leaders, who had no names. Some suggested father, but recoiled at the sight of the shadow tuner's face. Others, impressed by the power and majesty of their new lords, suggested they be called kings. The shadow tuner agreed with this, and the light tuner acquiesced reluctantly. And so the Rei of Light and the Shin of Shadow became a people, rather than two lone entities.

"So they set about repairing holes in the fabric between worlds. But soon they discovered that the humans could not close these tears themselves. The King of Rei then suggested that humans should be given the powers of the kings themselves, rather than only the watered-down abilities that had been given to the children. The King of Shin, who had heretofore been against the inclusion of humans for any reason, was adamant that this was not to be. Eventually, however, a compromise was reached; other kings would be made out of humans, but only one for each side, and they in turn would have their own children. And thus, the two kings of light and shadow with their five children each came to be."

Shirogane was impressed. He had recalled that almost verbatim. Ryuuko, too, had loved reading and had the ability to recite entire passages from memory. Just one more way they were alike...

Shirogane felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest.

"Wow," said Kou. "That was amazing." Just as Shirogane was about to softly voice his agreement, Kou added, "That story made Shirogane look like a total asshole."

"..."

Shirogane felt a pain forming in his temple, which had nothing to do with the one in his chest. _One of these days..._

"So what now?" asked Akira. He had done little more than roll his eyes at Kou's previous comment, probably because he was used to such things.

Kou cleared his throat. "After the human-formerly human?-kings came into being, there was an...an incident." He glanced at Shirogane out of the corner of his eye.

Shirogane refused to look at either of them.

"The new king of Shin hatched a plot to overthrow Shirogane and his...ah...brother, Ryuuko."

"Ryuuko?"

"Yeah, he was the Direct King of Rei. The new king, Hammurabi, he um..." Uncharacteristically, Kou seemed to be at a loss for words. He swallowed.

"He killed him," a harsh, bitter voice continued. Akira turned to look at Shirogane, who was looking down at his hands atop his knees, which were clenched so hard that the knuckles were white. "And then he exiled me from the realm of shadows. I have been wandering around the realm of light ever since, looking for..." and now he too trailed off, looking as uncertain as Kou had moments before.

"He was looking for you," Kou explained to Akira, who seemed reluctant to press Shirogane for answers after that. "Because you are Ryuuko's reincarnation."

"I'm _what?"_ exclaimed Akira, astonished. He had not been expecting something like this.

"Yes," agreed Shirogane softly. He finally raised his head and looked at Akira again. "You are going to be the next King of Rei. And as such, I would like to formally request your help."

It was a good little speech, he thought. He'd been working it through his head since this morning, during the long wait at the construction site. He'd intended to say more, actually, but having the boy look at him with that face...he just couldn't. This was all he could manage. For now.

Once he got his hands on Ryuuko's stolen factor of light, there would be other things that needed to be said.

Akira still seemed a little confused, but after a moment he nodded. "Okay," he said. "I'm already trying to keep the balance anyway. We definitely need to discuss this reincarnation thing some more, but for now I'll cooperate."

"Good." Shirogane barely managed to choke the word out over the sudden, mysterious lump in his throat. "_Ahem_. So, now that that's out of the way, you're going to answer my questions," he said, turning to Kou. "I want to know about how you met, and what's been-"

Suddenly, he froze. A moment later, so did Akira. They both looked in the same direction, and then leapt to their feet.

"What?" exclaimed Kou. "What is it?"

"A massive incursion of darkness." Shirogane cursed. _Of all the times!_ "An amount this large can only mean one thing; a shin has crossed over."

Akira and Kou looked significantly at each other.

"What?" asked Shirogane.

"Aki's been feeling a shin crossing over every once and a while for the past few months," explained Kou. "And whenever he does, there's always...a murder."

Shirogane took a moment to process that. "You mean this shin is killing _humans?"_ he asked in disbelief. When Kou nodded, Shirogane shook his head and muttered, "In my day..."

"We should go after him this time," Akira interrupted. As Kou opened his mouth to protest Akira quickly added, "I know you didn't want us to try before because you thought I'd get hurt and you didn't think you could take him on your own, but now we have Shirogane with us," he said, gesturing at the shin. "And three against one should be good enough, right?" he finished with a look of frustration.

Kou hesitated. "Maybe it should just be me and Shiroga-"

"No," Akira interrupted firmly. "I'm coming. Reincarnation or not, I'm ready to take on more responsibility. And I need the experience as well. I know you're only worried about me," he added a little more softly while looking at Kou, "but now that we have backup its time that I got out there and started fighting for myself. I can do this," he added with confidence.

Looking at the determined expression on Akira's face, Kou sighed. "I always knew this day would come. They grow up so fast," he murmured, a strange smile on his face. "Alright," he relented. "You can come. But you always have to be within sight of me or Shirogane, and you have to follow all the instructions we give, no matter what they are. Kind of like when you and I were mending holes before, only this is far more dangerous."

Akira nodded solemnly. "I understand. Now, let's go get this guy before he kills someone else."

* * *

**And they're off to save the day! I can just hear the Batman theme playing in the background while I sing Mono-mono-mono-mono-mono-mono-mono-chrome FACTOR! :D**

**(I know I said there would be more plot happening, but apparently not. More action next chapter, though.)**

**Yeah, so anyway, I think my update schedule's pretty much going to be once a month, or close enough. I know this one came out way, WAY late by my standards (sorry), but one/month seems like a good rhythm for me. So expect the next chappie sometime between August 1-31. **

**(But seriously, its not going to be tomorrow. Today is July 31, and I know I said between August 1-31, but that's just a general rule, you know, to give you the gist. Expect a chapter in August. But not tomorrow. Seriously. I'm freaking tired.)**

**But when I do update, you know where it'll be. Same Kou-time, same Kou-channel. Peace, and thanks for reading. :)**


	9. Chapter 8: Revelations

**Disclaimer: All Standard Disclaimers Apply.**

* * *

Kengo sighed. He had continued searching until after the sun went down, but when the moon started to rise he gave up. He couldn't find Akira anywhere, and was becoming increasingly worried. This really wasn't like him, to disappear without a trace...

Well, it had happened more frequent lately, what with these strange unexplained absences occurring more and more often as the school year wore on. But on those days Akira would usually text him, letting him know that he wouldn't be in school on that day and telling him not to worry. Kengo never told anyone, but the fact that Akira only contacted him and not any of the other, more popular kids made his heart feel like it was floating on a warm breeze in his chest.

Still, he had no idea what Akira was doing on those days he was absent, and he couldn't help but feel left out, or even that his friend didn't trust him. He also felt a strange sense of worry, almost like a dark little voice was whispering in his head that Akira might not come back.

That had never happened, of course. Still... Kengo sometimes asked himself why he worried so much when Akira disappeared. Sure, Akira was pretty much his only friend, and losing him would be devastating, but it was more than that.

Sometimes, he felt like if he took his eyes off Akira for too long, the other boy would just disappear, bursting like a firework and then fading into the night until he was nothing more than a memory...and then not even that.

Suddenly, he heard what sounded like a crash, followed by a wordless yell. Startled, he stepped off the sidewalk and into a nearby alley, wondering if somebody needed help. Stepping around knocked-over trash cans and crates, he arrived at the scene of an ongoing fight.

There were two participants, from what he could tell; a boy and a girl, both looking a little roughed up. As he watched, the boy slowly edged towards the girl, and something in his hand glinted. Kengo blinked. Was that a_ knife?! _Holy-

The girl swung a shinai at him and he moved back out of her striking range. But not very far. Kengo watched as he slowly advanced, then swiftly retreated when she lashed out. It was like watching a cat toying with a cornered mouse, backing away every time it threatened to bite while slowly wearing it down.

Kengo had seen enough. That girl may be holding her own now, but that couldn't last forever. She needed help. Clenching his fists, he strode toward them.

"Hey you!" he yelled in their direction, hoping to distract that guy long enough for the girl to escape, or at least catch her breath. As they both turned to look at him, he leveled a glare at the guy with the knife. "Leave her alone!" he added, just in case there was any doubt whose side he was on.

The girl blinked at him, then let out a surprised breath. "Kengo?" she said in disbelief.

Kengo stopped, momentarily surprised. Did he know this girl? On closer inspection, she did look kind of familiar... And then it hit him. "Aya?" he responded in shock. What the heck was she doing here? For a moment he wondered if she'd come looking for him because he skipped school, before he realized that was absurd.

Shaking his head, he focused his attention on the guy who was attacking her. Explanations could wait. Right now, they had some butt to kick.

Meanwhile, the guy whose butt needed kicking had watched the entire conversation without moving, his face hooded in shadow. Seeing Kengo start forward again, however, he smirked. "More cattle, eager for the slaughter?" he mused. "This just keeps getting better and better." He licked his lips. "Okay. If that's what you really want, then who am I to stop you?" He dropped into a half crouch, his knife glinting wickedly. "Come and get it."

Kengo tensed. He'd fought a lot of people before, guys who'd disliked Akira because he'd been more popular or better looking or beaten them at some sport. At first he'd mostly just gotten himself beat up, but after awhile he'd learned how to read his opponents and their moves, and he'd taken the hits better and even learned to punch with some accuracy. But this guy...he was different from all those other guys. Kengo could feel the bloodlust radiating off him.

Suppressing a shiver, he continued walking forward until he had the guy at angles with Aya. Surely, with the two of them together they could handle him. Swallowing down his fear and the dark little voice in his head that told him to run, Kengo prepared to engage.

[Black and White]

Akira ran lightly and quickly across the rooftops, jumping huge distances to get from one building to the next. Shirogane led and Kou followed closely behind, on the alert for any signs of a threat. The two seemed to have reached a grudging truce, as least while there was a crisis happening.

Akira wondered again what was really going on. Yes, they'd informed him that he was the reincarnation of the dead king of light, but he still got the feeling that there was something they weren't telling him...

Shaking his head, he banished those thoughts. He could think about all that later. Right now there might be someone who was in trouble out there, someone who needed their help. He wouldn't allow his own confused thoughts to cost some innocent bystander their life.

Shirogane steered them towards the place where the incursion of darkness was thickest, not bothering to watch out for anyone who might see him. Akira had heard earlier that Shirogane, along with the other shin, could not be seen by the people of the light world because they were beyond their range of detection or something. Akira and Kou were not so lucky. They both had to be careful so that regular people didn't notice them performing impossible physical feats while they ran across the rooftops. This wasted valuable time as they transversed the city, and chafed on Akira's nerves. He just wanted to run straight to the scene, and people's perceptions be damned. But he had promised that he would obey Kou's and/or Shirogane's orders, so he had to go along with it even if he thought it was stupid.

By the time they arrived at the scene, things seemed to have escalated into an all-out fight between the shin and a couple of humans...which was pretty strange, when Akira thought about it. Humans usually couldn't see shin, much less fight on par with them, so to find a couple of humans actively fighting against one was a rare sight indeed. Still, it looked as though the two of them were in trouble. They were gradually being pushed back by the shin's superior strength and speed, and had been forced into a corner. While they were bravely holding their own, it wouldn't be long before they were overrun.

Akira summoned his blades of light and prepared to leap down and help.

"Wait," Kou said suddenly, throwing out an arm to stop him. "I should be the one to handle this. You hang back."

"No," Akira said immediately. "I told you, I'm coming along to help, not wait in the shadows while you make sure its safe for me to breathe."

Kou opened his mouth to retort but before he could, Shirogane unexpectedly spoke up. "I'd like to see what the boy can do," he said softly, while giving Kou a look. "I think he should join us."

Gritting his teeth, Kou turned to Akira. "I said you had to follow my orders, no matter what they were-" he began.

"No," Akira interrupted. "You said I had to follow your orders _or _Shirogane's." He turned around to look at the silver-haired shin.

After a moment of glancing between Kou and Akira, Shirogane nodded. "Go," he said simply.

Grinning, Akira leaped off the roof. Behind him, he heard Kou yelling "What are you playing at?!" and could have sworn he heard Shirogane reply "Well, maybe you shouldn't have put so much sugar in my coffee."

Descending quickly yet silently, Akira landed facing the rogue shin's back, just far enough away to avoid detection. He would've liked to have been even farther away, but the narrow alley made that impossible.

Hefting his knives, Akira advanced as silently as possible towards the shin, who had pushed the humans into a corner. Concerned, Akira tried to peer over the shin's shoulder to catch a glimpse of them and see if they were all right. Well, at least they still had all their limbs attached-

Wait. Squinting, Akira tried to make out their faces. Something about them seemed awfully familiar...

And then the penny dropped. _Oh my god, how did Kengo and Aya...?! _

Trying and failing to swallow down his panic, Akira abruptly charged forward even as Shirogane and Kou landed beside him. Kou reached out to grab him, but missed, and the next thing any of them knew Akira was swinging a blade down on the shin's shoulder.

The shin, to his credit, noticed the incoming attack perhaps two heartbeats before it landed. He was able to swerve out of the way, but the knife still caught him, ripping his sleeve and drawing a crooked line down the outside of his arm. He cursed, backing away.

Akira rushed to the side of his friends. "Are the two of you okay?!" he yelled, frantically looking them over for wounds. They both had cuts on their faces and hands, and probably in less noticeable places as well. But they were still standing, with looks of haggard defiance on their faces. They stared at him, wary confusion in their eyes, and Akira realized they didn't know who he was. Well, they may not be able to recognize him in his rei form-

"Akira?" exclaimed Aya. Or not.

"Why are _you_ here too?" she continued, for some reason giving an annoyed look to Kengo. "And what happened to your hair? And your...eyes? Are you cosplaying or something?"

"Later," Akira hissed at her, staring at the shin.

For his part, the shin had watched this whole exchange with a faint scowl on his face, holding his arm. "You cut me," he said to Akira, with a mix of disbelief and accusation in his voice. His one eye blinked repeatedly and then narrowed, while the other remained concealed behind an eye-patch.

Akira suddenly felt an unexpected surge of rage. This guy had been cutting people up for weeks now, and when someone else gave him a scratch, _they_ were in the wrong? Looking back over at his friends as their blood dripped onto the pavement, Akira knew that this guy needed to be taught a lesson.

"I'm so sorry," Akira replied in a sweetly acidic voice. "Would you like me to give you a more serious injury to take your mind off it?"

Kengo and Aya stared at him. Akira was usually easy going, and it was rare for him to lose his temper. But now he had, and there were going to be consequences.

For somebody.

The shin sneered. "You can try," he smirked. "But I don't think that you-" Suddenly, he stopped. "Wait," he frowned. "You're a _rei?_" he said in disbelief.

"Yes, he is," came a voice off to Akira's left. Kou was striding forward, placing himself between Akira and the shin. "And so am I," he added. "So why don't you pick on someone your own size, for a change?"

The shin sneered. "Right," he said. "Well, I guess you could be fun to play with." He glanced at Shirogane, only to do a double-take. "What?" he said again, blinking. "Are you another shin?"

His repeated surprise would have been comedic if the situation hadn't been so serious. "How can that be?" he continued. "I would have known if any new people were joining."

This comment didn't make a whole lot of sense to Akira, and at the moment he didn't really care. He turned to Shirogane. "Shirogane, can you please take my friends to safety?" he asked. When he looked ready to protest, Akira added, "Please. They're hurt."

Gritting his teeth, Shirogane did as he was asked. He strode over to the two of them, unceremoniously picked them up, then leaped onto the roof of a nearby building, bounding away with one human under each arm.

"Alright," said Akira, hefting his knives. "Now, let's see how much fun you can have with us."

* * *

**I seriously WANTED to put more action in this chapter…but it was not to be. Sorry about that. **

**This chapter was originally supposed to be longer, but I started school, so that didn't happen. *sigh* I wanted to get this out there so I could keep my self-imposed deadline, but the result is a slightly truncated chapter...**

**Still, I kind of knew that I was going to have to split up this fight into two chapters (otherwise the whole thing would have been MASSIVE), and at least now I'm not cutting you off in the middle of the fight, right? (Please excuse the unintentional rhyme.)**

**And the best part is that now, I can_ guarantee _there'll be action in the next chapter. See? I even italicized it. It's _guaranteed. _Or your money back! ****Yes, that's right folks! if there's no action in the next chapter, I will personally refund all of the money you paid me to read this! A full $0.00! XD**

**But in all seriousness, I'll find the time to get the next chapter out, and there will be much kicking of the butt therein. Look forward to it!**


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